isions of Paradise #119: Halcyon Days _\\|//_ ( 0_0 ) ___________________o00__(_)__00o_________________ Robert Michael Sabella E-mail: mailto:[email protected]@optonline.net Personal blog: http://adamosf.blogspot.com/ Sfnal blog: http://visionsofparadise.blogspot.com/ Available online at http://efanzines.com/ Copyright ©October, 2007, by Gradient Press Available for trade, letter of comment or request Trinlay Khadro P.O. Box 240934 Brown Deer, WI 53224_0934 May 5, 2007 Milwaukee fan Leah Fisher, one of my first friends when I moved to Milwaukee, came down with shingles at a con about a year ago. She’s doing fine, and I managed not to catch it despite sitting next to her at a social night just before she left for the con. Megumi and Seimei are getting along fine. If one is lucky, one might catch them snuggling or grooming each other...but nothing they’d admit to. ( September 30, 2007: On the UP side, we'll soon be moving from our micro-apartment to a small house, which is about 1 bedroom larger, and has a basement! So I'll probably wear myself out, and have trouble recovering, but this time it's for ME and I'll have lots of friends helping with packing, moving and unpacking. Do let people know I'll be getting to Windycon, and maybe a few other cons over the next year or so... and need information about cons so that I can send things to the art shows, even if they're too far for me to get to. [Jean and I have always thought that Misty and Tiger, who never socialize together when any of us are around, sometimes stay together when we’re on vacation, mostly out of loneliness and the need for companionship than true friendship. But when they have people around, the antagonism–mostly on Misty’s part–returns.] Sheryl Birkhead 25509 Jonnie Ct Gaithersburg, MD 20882 June 24, 2007 As you may know, John Purcell did indeed ask Alan White for artwork, and it graced the cover of his second ish. Man–his zine came out of the chute all ablaze–#1 sported a lovely Brad Foster cover and #2 was crowned by the White cover. McCaffrey: if I remember the title correctly, Merlin is a juvenile non-sf book. The cobwebs prompt me to say I enjoyed it–all I remember is a white German shepherd. I have stuck with the library selection for so long I hate to admit I was unaware of the passing of the mantle. I need to take some time and poke through the sf at Borders and see what second generation names I can find. Lloyd Penney: Talking to/with pros can be intimidating. I have not been to a con in quite a few years and freely admit that, even those I did attend, I was petrified most of the time. At one of those cons (a Worldcon, if I remember correctly) I was asked to chat with a pro in the green room while waiting for a panel or some such. I actually had some things to talk about that were not sf in nature, but this author (whom everyone says is such a great guy) nearly bit my head off and informed me that I did not know what I was talking about–end of conversation. That ended my talking for the duration of the convention. Ironically, it seems to me that the best way to talk to pros is to speak to those you already know...but exactly how you get to know them is the problem! In this county we have one day or one case for jury duty. Once you have been notified (or served), then your name comes out of the juror pool for two years. I have served on one jury and been called three times–but never had to show up. They have a call-in number and you are given a reference number to locate–telling you whether to actually show up at the courthouse or not. Robert Kennedy–it seems that Larry, the Shuttle-riding scientist from Numb3rs, may be sliding out of the show. His return to terra firma on the show was a small ripple, but I hope he turns up again. Then too, I like his role in 24 and maybe he will have a recurring spot there as well. I guess that in acting, as in many other professions, it is often feast or famine. Over in The Passing Scene, I see you were torn between English and Math as a major. I ended up with a Chemistry major and a Math minor. It would have been a double major except Math Physics was a requirement for such a major and, at that point, I was not on the best of speaking terms with Physics (as an aside–during my Masters courses, Solid State Physics was a required course, and when told I had an A in the class, I refused to believe it until the secretary produced the grade sheet). I agreed pretty much with you answers to the SF Signal Meme up to the last five questions–those I punted. The “Bookmark or Dogear” took me a moment. Once I figured it out, I realized the reason it eluded me is that I would never think of anything other than a bookmark! My sister-in-law intends to retire after next year (she teaches in Kentucky where they go to school year-round). She will end up with four retirements and social security, so she shouldn’t have any worries. Add to that, my brother has said they no longer have any financial worries– but he has always said, and meant it, that he feels teachers are overpaid!! She has taught in at least three school systems and retired (for one day, then called back into teaching in another system) from one of them. Around here, the property taxes will have tripled in another year–meaning in the 8 years since I bought this house, and the electricity bill will also have tripled, despite my best attempts at conservation. Here the county found some not-so-small loopholes– they are prohibited from increasing the assessment more than 10% a year, so they did that and coupled it to a small rate increase–all of which boils down to a huge increase in the bottom line. I’ve already started thinking I will need to look for other spots to live where the basic costs are not so astronomical. We’ll see. As always, The Lighter Side chuckle-filled. Pray continue! [It’s not just speaking to pros that is a problem at cons, but speaking to fans I have not met in person previously can be just as intimidating, not to mention approaching total strangers! I’m sure this is not a problem for most people, but it surely is for some. [I’m a bit confused. Did your sister-in-law get pensions from 4 school systems? That is impossible in NJ where teachers’ pensions are controlled by the state, so all school systems are tied into one pension. Or does she just have so many years in education that her pension will be large as a result?] John Purcell [email protected] Jul 13, 2007 Read and enjoyed your latest VoP, The Passing Scene, and naturally there are a few things that piqued my interest. I completely agree with George R.R. Martin that Forbidden Planet is one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Not only is it entertaining, but there are layers in it that a casual viewer won't catch. The importance of Star Wars is, in my mind, because of its winning combination of special effects, action, likeable characters (no real depth to them at first), and the marketing strategies that developed around the movie and its resultant franchise. Star Wars turned science fiction movies into mega_bucks generators if you followed that basic formula, and the trend shows no sign of abating. If anything, it’s getting worse, but that could be a fan article lurking in the back of my mind if I ever feel like writing it. Someone's probably said it, though, somewhere out there in the Great Wasteland. At any rate, of the other SF movies that Martin felt were superior to Star Wars, I agree with them, too, especially Charly, which still moves me every time I watch it. It is simply a powerful movie. I would even add a couple more to this list–we SF fans certainly love lists, don't we?– like, as you said, Blade Runner, maybe even Bicenten-nial Man. I suspect many would disagree with me about this latter film, but I think it was well_produced and made some provoca-tive commentary about the human condition. There are spots in that movie that are quite poetic and moving. This is, of course, my opinion, but I consider Bicentennial Man superior to Star Wars because there is a lot of character depth and social commentary that a big_bucks block-buster like the first Star Wars couldn't touch. Later films in the SW canon explored themes and character depth to varying degrees of success, which I guess was to be expected. You mentioned Dark City; I don't think I have ever heard of that movie. Interesting. This requires some research on my part to see what it's all about. Anything else of note in here? Maybe the fact that your diary of dealings at your high school makes me glad that I am no longer teaching at the high school level.